Kingfisher in the Spring Sunshine

Tweet

Kingfisher Latin Name: Alcedo atthis



Kingfishers are on the Amber list. Kingfishers are small unmistakable bright blue and orange birds of slow moving or still water. They fly rapidly, low over water, and hunt fish from riverside perches, occasionally hovering above the water's surface. They are a vulnerable to hard winters and habitat degradation through pollution or unsympathetic management of watercourses. Kingfishers are amber listed because of their unfavourable conservation status in Europe.

Where to see them

They are widespread, especially in central and southern England, becoming less common further north but following some declines last century, they are currently increasing in their range in Scotland. Kingfishers are found by still or slow flowing water such as lakes, canals and rivers in lowland areas. In winter, some individuals move to estuaries and the coast. Occasionally they may visit garden ponds if of a suitable size.

Ashdown Forest Fire

Tweet

We visited Ashdown Forest this afternoon to get some wildlife photographs and early this evening went for a walk in The Old Lodge Nature Reserve. At about 7:00pm it was apparent that there was a fire quite nearby. The most likely cause of fires on Ashdown Forest is either carelessness or arson, which in either case is very sad as it destroys the habitat of many wild animals, and may also cost the lives of many as well. The flames of the fire could be seen rising higher than some tall conifers.

Great Crested Grebe

Tweet

A selection of photos of a pair of Great Crested Grebes - photos taken April 24th, 2011

Dunnock

Tweet

Dunnock
Prunella modularis

A beautiful Dunnock seen at Pulborough Brooks yesterday.

Dunnock - Nikon 200-400 f4, 1/500th ISO 200

Lesser Whitethroat

Tweet

Lesser Whitethroat
Sylvia curruca

On our visit to Pulborough Brooks this week we managed to get a fairly good view of a Lesser Whitethroat and a few glimpses of Whitethroats who are back!

Peregrine Falcon

Tweet

Peregrine Falcon

(Falco peregrinus)

Visited Pulborough Brooks this week and while looking for somewhat smaller birs including warblers to photograph, my saw this Peregrine Falcon flying by with its prey tightly gripped. Not the best of photographs technically but my first photograph of a Peregrine of any note.

Peregrine Falcon at Pulborough Brooks April 2011

Firecrest

Tweet

Firecrest

Firecrest at Arundel 8th February 2011

Latin name
Regulus ignicapillus

Family
Warblers and allies (Sylviidae)

Overview
This tiny, restless jewel of a bird vies with the goldcrest for the title of the UK's smallest bird. It is now an established breeding species, although only in very small numbers. It differs from a goldcrest in having brighter green upperparts, whiter underparts and a fiery orange crown stripe with broad whitish eyebrow stripe, and below that a short black stripe through the eye. Its small breeding population makes it an Amber List species.

Where to see them
Breeds mainly in south-east England and passage birds are seen largely on the east and south coasts. Best looked for in bushes and trees, especially conifers, often in the company of goldcrests.

When to see them
All year round, but passage birds arrive in September and October, with a return movement in March and April.

What they eat
Insects and spiders

Marsh Tit

Tweet

Marsh Tit

Latin name
Poecile palustris

Family
Tits (Paridae)

Overview
Not distinguished from the willow tit as a separate species until 1897, the marsh tit is smart, clean looking bird with a small, well defined black bib and glossy black cap. As with so many woodland birds, its call is the best way of locating it. It feeds acrobatically and will hoard food if it finds a good supply. Recent population declines make this a Red List species.

Where to see them
Occurs across England and Wales, with a few in southern Scotland. It is most abundant in S Wales and southern and eastern England. Found largely in deciduous woodland, also copses, parks and gardens, but it is quite scarce in urban areas. When feeding it ranges from between the upper canopy to lower undergrowth.

When to see them
All year round.

What they eat
Insects and seeds

Dunlin

Tweet

Dunlin

Dunlin - Pagham Harbour Nature Reserve 19th March 2011

Latin name
Calidris alpina

Family
Sandpipers and allies (Scolopacidae)

Overview
The commonest small wader found along the coast. It has a slightly down-curved bill and a distinctive black belly patch in breeding plumage. It feeds in flocks in winter, sometimes numbering thousands, roosting on nearby fields, saltmarshes and shore when the tide is high.

Where to see them
Breeds in the uplands of Scotland, Wales and England. Greatest numbers found on the Western and Northern Isles and the Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland in scotland, in the Pennines in England. Found on all UK estuaries with largest numbers in winter.

When to see them
All year round on the coast. On breeding grounds from April to July.

What they eat
Insects, snails and worms.

Lesser Redpoll

Tweet

Lesser Redpoll

Latin name
Carduelis cabaret

Family
Finches (Fringillidae)

Overview
The lesser redpoll is a small brown streaked finch with a distinctive red forehead, small black bib and, in breeding males, red upper chests. This contrasts with largely pale under parts (streaked on the flanks). Its UK breeding population has declined and it is on the Red List. They are often found in flocks, occasionally with siskins. It has recently been split from the common or mealy redpoll, a larger and paler species.

Where to see them
A widespread breeding species in Scotland, northern and eastern England and Wales. It is less common in central, southern and south-west England as a breeding species, but does occur in these places in winter. Look in birch and alder woods.

When to see them
All year round, but commoner in the north in summer and in the south in winter.

What they eat
Seeds, especially birch and alder

Great black-backed Gull

Tweet

Great black-backed Gull

Great black-backed Gull
2nd April 2011 - Pagham Harbour West Sussex

Latin name
Larus marinus

Family
Gulls (Laridae)

Overview
A very large, thick-set black-backed gull, with a powerful beak. Adults are blacker than the smaller lesser black-backed gull. It has a heavy flight and can look quite hunched when perched. It will fight off other gulls and chase them to snatch food.

Where to see them
Found around the coasts in the breeding season. At other times of year it can be found wherever gulls congregate - at reservoir roosts, rubbish tips inland, and bays and harbours.

When to see them
All year round - found inland most in winter.

What they eat
Omnivorous - shellfish, birds and carrion.

Mute Swan

Tweet

Mute Swan

Two Mute Swans at Pagham Harbour 3rd April 2011

Latin name
Cygnus olor

Family
Swans, ducks and geese (Anatidae)

Overview
The mute swan is a very large white waterbird. It has a long S-shaped neck, and an orange bill with black at the base of it. Flies with its neck extended and regular slow wingbeats. The population in the UK has increased recently, perhaps due to better protection of this species. The problem of lead poisoning on lowland rivers has also largely been solved by a ban on the sale of lead fishing weights. Some birds stay in their territories all year, while others move short distances and form winter flocks. In cold weather, some birds arrive from Europe into eastern England.

Where to see them
Breeds across most of the UK, other than in northern Scotland, mid-Wales and the moors of south-west England. Possible to see anywhere there is a shallow lake, or a slow-flowing rivers, even in urban areas and parks.

When to see them
All year round

What they eat
Water plants, insects and snails.

Linnet

Tweet

Linnet

We had a successful walk along Pagham Harbour Nature Reserve and saw Wheatears, a Cetti's Warbler, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff  and numerous waders! We then drove to the Nature Reserve at Sidlesham where we went for a walk and saw a couple of male Linnets and below is one of them.

Latin name
Carduelis cannabina

Family
Finches (Fringillidae)

Overview
A small, slim finch, widely distributed, and once very popular as a cage bird because of its melodious song. Males are attractively marked with crimson foreheads and breasts, females much browner. It can be flighty and has an undulating flight, usually twittering as it flies. Now it is declining, in common with many other birds which use farmland, and is a Red List species.

Where to see them
While widespread across the UK, there are concentrations along the east coast from Kent to Aberdeenshire but they are scarce in upland regions and north west Scotland. Look for it on commons, heathland, rough ground, farmland hedges, saltmarshes and in parks and gardens.

When to see them
All year round.

What they eat
Seeds and insects.

Mallard

Tweet

Mallard

Mallard Duck at Arundel March 2010

Mallard Duck at Arundel March 2010

Latin name
Anas platyrhynchos

Family
Swans, ducks and geese (Anatidae)

Overview
The mallard is a large and heavy looking duck. It has a long body and a long and broad bill. The male has a dark green head, a yellow bill, is mainly purple-brown on the breast and grey on the body. The female is mainly brown with an orange bill. It breeds in all parts of the UK in summer and winter, wherever there are suitable wetland habitats, although it is scarcer in upland areas. Mallards in the UK may be resident breeders or migrants - many of the birds that breed in Iceland and northern Europe spend the winter here.

Where to see them
It is the commonest duck and most widespread so you have a chance of seeing it just about anywhere where there is suitable wetland habitat, even in urban areas.

When to see them
All year round.

What they eat
Seeds, acorns and berries, plants, insects and shellfish.

Chaffinch

Tweet

Chaffinch

Lovely Spring day walking around Pulborough Brooks and on the way back to the centre this lovely female chaffinch posed nicely.

Male Chaffinch at the picnic area Pulborough Brooks 2010

Male Chaffinch - Arundel Wetland Centre July 2010

Female Chaffinch at Warnham Nature Reserve

Female Chaffinch - Pulborough Brooks 5th April 2011

Latin nameFringilla coelebs

Family
Finches (Fringillidae)


Overview:
The chaffinch is the UK's second commonest breeding bird, and is arguably the most colourful of the UK's finches. Its patterned plumage helps it to blend in when feeding on the ground and it becomes most obvious when it flies, revealing a flash of white on the wings and white outer tail feathers. It does not feed openly on bird feeders - it prefers to hop about under the bird table or under the hedge. You'll usually hear chaffinches before you see them, with their loud song and varied calls.

Where to see them
Around the UK in woodlands, hedgerows, fields, parks and gardens anywhere.

When to see them
All year round.

What they eat
Insects and seeds.

Blue Tit

Tweet

Visited Warnham Nature Reserve on Monday 21st March, 2011 and yet another Blue Tit photo. I hope that you like it! They are so cute and photogenic.

Blue Tit at Warnham Nature Reserve

March 21st 2011 - Nikon D300S 200-400 - f4, 1/640th sec, ISO 200

Nuthatch

Tweet

Nuthatch

We drove down to The New Forest today (23rd March, 2011) in the hope of getting some photographs of Bramblings and possibly sighting an elusive Dartford Warbler. Other photos to follow, but I had to upload this batch first. I don't usually like any feeder shots but I quite like these of a beautiful Nuthatch. Not really sure if it is a male or female, but my guess would be a male.

Nuthatch: Nikon D300S f4, 1/640th sexc, ISO 280

Nuthatch: Nikon D300S f4, 1/640th sexc, ISO 280

Nuthatch: Nikon D300S f4, 1/800th sexc, ISO 360

Nuthatch: Nikon D300S f4, 1/800th sexc, ISO 360

Siskin

Tweet

Siskin

Latin name
Carduelis spinus

Family
Finches (Fringillidae)

Siskin Warnham Nature Reserve January 2011

Nikon 300S f4, 1/400th sec, ISO 280

Male Siskin 15th February 2013 Warnham

Description:
The siskin is a small, lively finch, which is smaller than a greenfinch. It has a distinctly forked tail and a long narrow bill. The male has a streaky yellow-green body and a black crown and bib. There are yellow patches in the wings and tail. It is mainly a resident breeder from southern England to northern Scotland, but is most numerous in Scotland and Wales. Many breeding birds are residents; in winter birds arrive here also from Europe.

Where to see them
In the breeding season, look for it in the tops of trees in suitable habitat in Scotland and Wales, where they are fairly common. In winter they are seen more widely across England as well.

When to see them
All year round.
What they eat

Seeds, especially of conifers, alders and birch, and some insects.

Reed Bunting

Tweet

Reed Bunting

Latin name
Emberiza schoeniclus

Family
Buntings (Emberizidae)

Description
Sparrow-sized but slim and with a long, deeply notched tail, the male has a black head, white collar and a drooping moustache. Females and winter males have a streaked head. In flight the tail looks black with broad, white edges.

Where to see them:
Predominantly a farmland and wetland bird. Typically found in wet vegetation but has recently spread into farmland and, in winter, into gardens. When singing the male usually perched on top of a bush, or reed.

When to see them
All year round.

What they eat
Seeds and insects

Long-tailed Tit

Tweet

Long-tailed Tit

Long-tailed Tit at Warnham Nature Reserve 
4th March 2011 - Nikon D300S 1/1000th sec f4, ISO400

Latin name
Aegithalos caudatus

Family
Long-tailed tits (Aegithalidae)

Description:
The long-tailed tit is easily recognisable with its distinctive colouring, a tail that is bigger than its body, and undulating flight. Gregarious and noisy residents, long-tailed tits are most usually noticed in small, excitable flocks of about 20 birds. Like most tits, they rove the woods and hedgerows, but are also seen on heaths and commons with suitable bushes.

Where to see them:
Found across the UK except for the far north and west of Scotland. They can be seen in woodland, farmland hedgerows, scrubland, parkland and gardens. In winter they form flocks with other tit species.

When to see them:
All year round

What they eat:
Insects, occasionally seeds in autumn and winter

Long-tailed Tit - Pulborough Brooks January 2011

Nikon D300S 200-400, f4, 1/200th sec, ISO 280

Brambling

Tweet

Brambling

Latin name
Fringilla montifringilla

Family
Finches (Fringillidae)

Description:
Similar in size and shape to the chaffinch, the male has a black head in summer, and an orange breast with white belly. In flight it shows a long white rump. Gregarious in winter, it may form flocks of many thousands and often joins with chaffinches. Numbers can vary between winters depending on food supplies.

Where to see them:
In winter likes beech woodland, farmland fields near woods. Look in flocks of chaffinches and other finches. In autumn look along east coast woodlands and fields. Will visit gardens in winter.
When to see them

Watch out for them from mid-September until March and April. Occasional birds stay into May or even later.

What they eat:
Seeds in winter; insects in summer.

The following photos were taken at Blashford Lakes on 23rd March, 2011